Oct
21
Some Pros And Cons of Christianity
Filed Under The Bigger Perspective, Motivation & Purpose | 4 Comments
Keeping An Open Mind To Religion
It is very important to consider different perspectives when we’re trying to develop ourselves so that we can see the same thing from multiple angles and get a larger understanding of what that object is. To that end, I have spent the past year or two learning about the one thing that appear to be the antithesis of logical thinking - religion.
Interestingly enough, after a year of asking Christians their viewpoints on various topics, it actually appears to be a very good way of living. There are many constructs built into the religion itself that are very synergetic and promotes healthy relationships. Ultimately though, there is one major stumbling block that I haven’t heard a convincing explanation for yet.
First, let’s take a look at some of the synergetic constructs:
Good Parts About Christianity
Church
Allows people to gather together on a regular basis and talk with each other. It’s a life long activity that people will always have in common. From The Key To A Healthy Relationship, we know that such activities can be a strong binding force when people have problems or disagreements. It allows people to commit to a cause and overcome the minute differences.
Praying
If there’s any one thing you should know, it’s that we become what we think about. This is the major theme of books like Think And Growth Rich and is prevelant in almost all literature (and it’s absolutely true!!). Praying allows people to focus their thoughts on the desired results on a regular basis. That way, they never lose sight of their goals or what they want most.
Small Groups
On a regular basis, people meet to share inner parts of themselves with each other. If there’s one thing that I greatly admire about Christianity, it’s that people are extremely open to sharing parts of themselves. In my experience, people at church are quite open-minded and tend to be very accepting. It allows people to deeply connect, allowing people to have a sense of companionship.
The Bible
People are given a purpose to fulfill. This can become a pillar of strength in a lot of people’s lives. From How To Stop Hurt Feelings From Dating, we can see that it’s very important to have an identity apart from your relationships with other people. It helps you cope with situations where you are alone (which there always will be). You can often hear devout Christians reciting, “Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I fear no evil, for You are with me”.
Questionable Parts About Christianity
The one part that just doesn’t make sense to me though, is the whole concept of heaven and not heaven. For some reason, there is a positive association with being closer to God, as there is love and all that. However, why should there be a negative connotation associated with separation from God? There seems to be the implication that being apart from God is somehow a bad thing, which just doesn’t make sense. I get a distinct sense of, “If you don’t do what I tell you to do, you’ll end up in this really bad place!” Would a person who unconditionally loves you force you to be with them? No! They should let you do what you want to do, and be there for you when you want them.
Of course, all that is theoretical. Why should we care what people think about heaven and hell? Well, I’ve found that this attitude seems to trickle down into the actual attitudes of people. I have heard (and personally experienced) many cases where Christians seem to feel they are superior in some way because they are walking the “path of God”. In fact, throughout history, there have been times when this opposition has been so strong that there were crusades against non-Christians.
That is pretty dark for a religion that values unconditional love.
Of course, this doesn’t mean all the Christians I’ve met are like this. In fact, some of the most interesting people I’ve met are Ivy League engineers who are Christians. They have found their own interpretations which I find fascinating to listen to.
Ultimately though, I simply cannot accept that separation from God is a bad thing. Isn’t that basically kind of how Earth is right now?
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Hello, I’m from the INTJ Anon group on Facebook, and I’ve been subscribed to your blog for many months.
This topic is somewhat close to home for me. I was raised Christian but I became non-religious in high school. Because of this I often feel like a stranger in a foreign land (or perhaps that’s because I’m an INTJ, haha).
My problem with Christianity is not with the way of life - as you have pointed out, it can be very positive - but with the underlying assumptions. It doesn’t just prescribe ways of living, it also makes specific claims about reality, few of which I think are firmly grounded. Faith is said to be enough of a justification for the beliefs, and it is often touted as a virtue. This baffles me, as faith is not a reliable way to gain objective knowledge (this is could be a whole other topic to itself).
Ultimately, I’m not sure how pratical it is to weigh pros and cons when the truth claims made are unverified (and perhaps unverifiable).
C.S. Lewis was also an INTJ, I’ve heard. Have you read any of his stuff?
Josh: I’ve thought about that for quite a bit too. Ultimately though, I came to the conclusion that it doesn’t make a whole lot of difference what people say they believe in but rather what they do as a result of those beliefs that matter.
Someone can claim that pebbles are alive and holy, but as long as they create value for society, hey, great, pebbles are alive. Perhaps, the underlying assumptions aren’t nearly as important as the effect of adopting that set of beliefs. After all, no matter what frame of refernce you take, there will always be underlying assumptions (just keep asking why, and eventually you’ll need to assume something).
While those things are, as you said, unverifiable, the results of those beliefs are quite verifiable, and I think that’s what’s more important here.
Andrea: Hmmm, yeah I’m quite well aware of that, although I haven’t read much beyond the Chronicles of Narnia. Thanks for reminding me though, I’ll put some of his stuff on my list
Hello! As a Christian, and former atheist and agnostic, and I want to answer your questionable parts of the Christianity. I’m not going to criticise the people who label themselves “Christians” (who often it seems, does not act very “Christ-like”, unbiblicallly even), but I’ll go straight to the source.
To really understand the origins of the heaven/hell/God concept, one has to read the book of Genesis. This is where the story of Adam and Eve comes in.
Before anyone asks - I absolutely do not believe in the literal Adam and Eve account, but I do believe it in a metaphorical sense.
Genesis describes what we Christians believe is truth - that the state of the world is corrupt and evil, etc. and that, even though God saves us, we turn away from him.
Now, get this: The reason why I didn’t become a Christian any earlier is because I simply did not understand these concepts.
For the Christian belief is that we people, even Christians themselves, are generally wicked people, not able to uphold the law perfectly, or that people have the tendancy to get away whatever they can. And I agree - around the world, there are murderers, thieves, and even crimes like poverty, corruption of Government, etc. A quote from the bible: “No one is good. Not even one.” (Romans 3:10)
And so, given that, the idea of “sin” comes in: And you know what? The very definition of “sin” means, the “separation of God”!
Through a guy named Jesus, he has shown people what God is really like: that God is perfect in goodness. And thus, for those people who want to be like God, so that they could get rid of that state of sin are those who we now call “Christians”.
Now, there are a lot of questions, but let me reassure you, there are plenty of answers on the net, but it’s not my prerogative to give you those answers: It’s something that one must search for themselves.
I’ll also talk about things that have left you puzzled:
No, Christians, by their very definition, according to the bible, should NEVER EVER feel superior than anyone else. That’s an absolute No-No. Unfortunately, this is an attitude I find commonly in America. But, gratefully no where else.
I can’t support the crusades, but biblical Christians were always about peace. That means, no war.
And yes, I can guess you’re right about the separation of God right now, if you have read all of the above. Hopefully that makes things clearer